Michael K Houser's Blog

This infamous device installed in virtually every home and business with a security system is responsible for single handily causing more false alarms than all the other alarm devices combined. Because of all the false alarms one could say that this little device reminds them of the story of “the little boy who cried wolf”! But is it an unreliably designed device or another faulty installation?

Lets back up a little, what is an passive infrared and how does it work?

The term passive means the detector is able to function without the need to generate and radiate its own energy. PIRs are able to distinguish if an infrared emitting object is present by first learning the ambient temperature of the monitored space and then detecting a change in the temperature caused by the presence of an object. Using the principle of differentiation, which is a check of presence or non-presence, PIRs verify if an intruder or object is actually there.

So with that explanation why are there so many false alarms caused by passive infrared’s? Answer: poor design and wrong detector for location.

In my next post I will explain how all PIR’s are not created nor operate the same and how we use intelligent design with proven technology that guarantees a false alarm free system.

Wiring Nightmare

Well it’s finally Friday and I hope you’re excited about the weekend like me! This is a Lakers “Gold” weekend so I better not see green anything.

Through the years of being in the security industry, with over 51,000 experience, I have seen it all from systems easily defeated in a burglary, systems that cause false alarms, to poorly designed systems where you would have more protection sitting in a diesel truck filled with explosives ramming into a nitro-glycerin factory.

How do I know about these systems? Simple, we are the “A” Team and our job is to go into your home and business and clean up this junk and provide a safe and secure environment that lasts for decades! Plus, most of our referrals are from clients who thought the experts really were experts. Well, enough about the A Team let’s talk about the worst install of an control panel:

As seen and witnessed from Electronic Eye:

1. Control panel installed at floor height. Great height to service a panel if you have a 6 inch installer!

2. Control Panel installed inside a unprotected garage (courtesy of a national alarm company known by 3 letters). So convenient for a burglar to easily defeat a system without ever having to break in. I also like the stickers on the panel that easily direct you to the brain of the system.

3. Control panel installed at back door with keypad attached (courtesy of the national alarm company that sells $99.00 systems). Again, I always love it when an alarm company makes its system easily available for a burglar to defeat without using tools and a ladder. It always nice for the entry alert on the keypad to lead you directly to brain of the system. Our window stickers provide better security than these poorly designed systems.

4. Control Panel installed in a home with over 80 openings, with all the wires ran directly back to the control panel. This would have been OK back in the Jurassic era of alarm systems, but in the 80’s they invented a device called a “zone expander”. This makes wiring a home easy by running wires to expanders that run back to the control panel. Nice and neat and extremely easy to troubleshoot. But this type of system requires intelligent design.

5. Control panel with masking tape slices inside. Back in 1994 we bought an alarm company where the standard for everything was using masking tape. Now don’t get me wrong I like masking tape, especially when I paint. But masking tape splices in alarm installations is like electing Jerry “moonbeam” Brown to balance the California budget. It won’t work and only creates a bigger gob of mess!

Coming next week, “worst installation location of an Infrared”.

OK – funny story, around 2005 Electronic Eye Security Inc. was looking for economical CCTV equipment to go with our entry level DVR line. Around this time we were installing a lot of camera and security systems for laundromats. I had designed an economical control/security system and software that could operate a laundromat without anybody having to be there and it had over 6 levels of protection. Because of the nature of the business (cash transactions), laundromats are burglarized very often, sometimes a couple of times in a week. To this day no crook as ever gotten away with much more than a gumball machine under my watch and that’s only because we don’t secure gum.

It was also at this time that I had given up all hope on local security distributors who were hiring derelicts to work behind the counter that did not know a mop handle from a security camera. So we decided to buy direct from a Chinese importer who had incredible low prices on equipment over the internet. Woo hoo! I ordered up samples and tested them out and thought, “Yes! These imitations will work perfect for our entry level systems.” Big Mistake!

I was excited as we closed around 3-4 CCTV deals the first week of offering these low price-busting cameras and accessories.

But this excitement soon evaporated after the first installation was completed. It started with camera connectors that would literally disintegrate upon contact, BNC connectors that would short out the video and camera lenses that developed cataracts around the lens within a day or two of installing. It wasn’t long before our installers were returning to the job site to replace these connectors and cameras, not once, not twice but three times a week. The cameras would work for about 2 or 3 days and after that the shoddy electronics would slowly stop working. Talk about a royal pain in the rear end and embarrassment!

Well, we took the high road and ended up replacing every connector and camera and chalked it up to a valuable lesson that has served us well through the years:

We only use equipment that can match our high standards of intelligent design, installation and guarantees. The rest of the “crap” can be purchased at Costco, Sam’s Club, eBay, Radio Shack etc.!

I have been involved in the security industry since my father (an electrician by trade) installed intercom and local alarm systems back in the early 80’s. Back then alarm systems were pretty basic and most of them were only hooked up to an audible siren installed on the outside of the home. Most people who had an alarm system back in the 80’s were not well liked by their neighbors. Nothing can alienate you quicker from your neighbors than a blaring 110 decibel siren at 2:00 AM in the morning while you are away on vacation in Hawaii. The siren would keep up its howling warble sound until someone cut the wire to the bloody thing. By then the neighbor who figured out how to use wire cutters became an instant hero.

Thank goodness the security industry has grown to include changes like “swinger shutdown” which automatically shuts down an alarm siren after so many minutes. Also on the list of major improvements since the 80’s are better installation techniques like installing the siren inside the home instead of outside pointing at your neighbor’s house.

But the real issue remains: what happens if an alarm takes place at your home or business and you are not there?
An airline pilot has instrument gauges to monitor a flight, a car driver has instrument gauges to monitor the engine and a doctor has instrument gauges to monitor your health.
How about an instrument gauge that monitors your home or business anywhere you are, anytime you want?
Neil Peart drum roll please … let’s give a loud warm welcome to the next best friend of your home or business — no it’s not the cat — it’s “Virtual Connect”!

I have been using this product for my home for almost a year now and two things come to mind – Total Peace of Mind and Total Control of my Home.
I know when my alarm is on, who turns it off, if my dogs have water, if my dogs are OK, the temperature of the wine cellar and if there is an activation: Who, What, Where and When, all from my Blackberry Storm.
Total control and peace of mind of your home or business. Go Virtual!
So what is a Virtual Connect System?
A virtual connect system is simply a way to monitor and control devices of your home or business through a remote computer or web-based phone anytime anywhere!

How can it help you?
For residential users:
• View live video of your home
• View video clips and snapshots of alarm events
• Keep an eye on your pets
• Find out when the kids come home from school
• Cancel a false alarm dispatch
• Use the recorded video to apprehend home invaders
• Log in to see if the neighbor remembered to come by and feed the dogs while you’re on vacation
• Check in on the babysitter or caretaker
• Monitor access to medicine cabinets, gun cabinets or closets and be notified immediately of an alarm
• Find out immediately about a power outage
• Monitor for water seepage or flooding
• Monitor wine cellars for temperature change
• Control the temperature of your home before arriving
• Track and view guests, renters or maintenance personnel as they come and go
• And much more

GO Virtual

For Business users:
• Find out when someone arms or disarms the system
• Arm or disarm your system remotely
• Cancel False alarms prior to dispatch by viewing pre/post video or live video clips
• Reduce employee and customer theft
• Get better productivity out of your staff
• Use recorded video to help authorities apprehend burglars
• Monitor access and recorded video activity related to safes, cash drawers and inventory closets
• Create automated schedules to Arm/Disarm the system at set times each day
• Monitor temperature in server rooms
• And much more

To learn more Go Virtual and opt in to the box on the right. I will be following up with you later on this week about your exciting new best friend!

Talk to you soon,
Go Virtural
Michael Houser – The Security Genius

BY: Michael K. Houser

It always starts with a FREE to $99.00 alarm system designed by the three stooges of security. Now you may be wondering who Moe, Larry and Curly are, but if you have ever used the services of these clowns you might refer to them as Dumb and Dumber.

I might add that after seeing these systems easily defeated by a crack addict looking for some easy dough, one might conclude that there is no intelligent life in the security industry. OK, I will stop ranting about the companies that your local police have made a killing on with false alarm fines.

Without further ado here are my top 5 worst keypad installations:

1. Keypad installed at a height of six feet to keep the baby from playing with the buttons. Good thing that the whole family was over 6′9″.
2. Keypad installed in a bathroom. I always like to know the status of my alarm system while on the royal throne, geez!
3. Keypad installed at a height of 14″ from the floor. This was a perfect height for the dog to use the keypad; too bad the keypad was not paw friendly.
4. Keypad installed above a stove. Talk about getting burned for using the wrong code.
5. Keypad installed with double-sided tape. No need to waste all that time using a cordless drill and a couple of screws.

Coming next week “Worst install of an alarm control panel”.

Home Invasion

One of the more frightening and potentially dangerous crimes that can occur to a family is a home invasion robbery. A home invasion is when robbers force their way into an occupied home, apartment or hotel room to commit a robbery or other crimes. It is particularly frightening because it violates our private space and the one place that we think of as our sanctuary.

Home invasion is like the residential form of an automobile carjacking and it’s on the rise. Like the crime of carjacking, most police agencies don’t track home invasions as a separate crime. Most police agencies and the FBI will statistically record the crime as a residential burglary or a robbery. Without the ability to track the specific crime of home invasion, little can be done to alert the public as to the frequency of occurrence in their community or devise a law enforcement plan of action to control it.
Criminal Profile

Residential burglars work mostly during the day and when a residence is more likely to be unoccupied. Most burglars work alone and tend to probe a neighborhood looking for the right residence and the right opportunity. Alarm signs and decals, bars on windows, strong locks and doors, big dogs, and alert neighbors can sometimes deter burglars. Also, burglars will avoid a confrontation and will usually flee when approached. Most burglaries do not result in violence unless the criminal is cornered and uses force to escape.

Home invasion robbers, in contrast, work more often at night and on weekends when homes are more likely to be occupied. The home invader will sometimes target the resident as well as the dwelling. The selection process may include a woman living alone, a wealthy senior citizen or a known drug dealer, for example. It is not unheard of for a robber to follow you home based on the value of the car you are driving or the jewelry you are wearing. Some home invaders might have been in your home before as a delivery person, installer or repair vendor. Home robbers rarely work alone and rely on an overwhelming physical confrontation to gain initial control and instill fear in you. The greatest violence usually occurs during the initial sixty seconds of the confrontation and home invaders often come prepared with handcuffs, rope, duct tape, and firearms. Some in-home robbers appear to enjoy the intimidation, domination, and violence and some even claim it’s a “rush.”
Dangerous Trends

The act of committing a home invasion is escalating much like carjacking. The reason for the increase seems to follow a similar pattern. Much like automobiles, the traditional commercial targets for robbers like convenience stores and fast-food restaurants have hardened themselves against criminal attack and have reduced available cash. Technology has allowed commercial establishments to install affordable video surveillance systems, silent alarms, and other anti-crime deterrent devices. A residence, by comparison, is now a more attractive choice.

Home invaders know that they won’t have to overcome alarm systems when the home is occupied or be worried about video cameras and silent alarms. Unlike robbing a retail store, home invaders expect privacy once inside your home and won’t have to deal with the police suddenly driving up or customers walking in. Once the offenders take control of a residence they can force the occupants to open safes, locate hidden valuables, supply keys to the family car, and PIN numbers to their ATM cards. Home invaders will try to increase their escape time by disabling the phones and sometimes will leave their victims bound or incapacitated. It is not unheard of for robbers to load up the victim’s car with valuables and drive away without anyone in the neighborhood taking notice.
Method of Operation

The most common point of attack is through the front door or garage. Sometimes the home invader will simply kick open the door and confront everyone inside. More common is when the home invaders knock on the door first or ring the bell. The home invader hopes that the occupant will simply open the door, without question, in response to their knock. Unfortunately, many people do just that.

Home invaders will sometimes use a ruse or impersonation to get you to open the door. They have been known to pretend to be delivering a package, flowers or lie about an accident like hitting your parked car. Once the door is opened for them, the home invaders will use an explosive amount of force and threats to gain control of the home and produce fear in the victims. Once the occupants are under control the robbers will begin to collect your valuables.

Some home robbers have been known to spend hours ransacking a residence while the homeowners are bound nearby watching in terror. Some robbers have been known to eat meals, watch TV, or even take a nap. A major fear is that the robbers might commit more violence like sexual assault or even murder. Some robbers have kidnapped and forced a victim to withdraw cash from their ATM machine or take them to their small business to rob it as well.
Prevention Steps

The same tactics used to prevent daytime burglaries will go a long way to preventing forced entry home robberies. If you can delay a home invader at the point of entry then you have a chance of deterring them or have time to call the police. A solid core door, strong locks with reinforced strike plates, and reinforced window devices will stop most forced entries. See my web page on Home Security Tips for more information. Some homeowners build safe rooms inside their home to allow them to retreat or escape the violence while giving them valuable time to call the police.

The weakest home security link is the home occupant who fails to lock doors or windows or who will open the door without question at the sound of a knock. The best defense against home invasion is education and planning. Parents should hold a family meeting to discuss how to answer the door when someone knocks. Another important topic is how to act should your home or family be invaded. Once you know how home robbers work, you can effectively prevent most occurrences. See also Home Invasion Family Survival Tips for more information.

Remember these important security steps:

* Install solid core doors, heavy duty locks, and window security devices
* Lock all doors, windows, and garages at all times
* Use four three-inch screws to secure heavy duty lock strike plates in the door frame
* Use the door peephole BEFORE opening the door
* Use your porch light to help you to see clearly outside
* Never rely on a chain-latch as a barrier to partially open the door
* Never open the door to strangers or solicitors
* Call the police if the stranger acts suspicious
* Alert your neighbors to suspicious solicitors
* Hold a family meeting to discuss home security plans
* Set the home perimeter alarm at night, if you have one

by Chris E McGoey

More fires occur during the winter months than any other time, and steps taken during October can help keep you safe at home. October 4-10 marks National Fire Prevention Week with the theme, “Stay Fire Smart, Don’t Get Burned.”

A home fire is reported every 81 seconds in the United States, and roughly eight persons die in a home fire every day, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Most home fires originate in the kitchen. After cooking and smoking, heating sources and electrical equipment were among the most common causes as well.

PECO offers the following fire safety tips to ensure that you and your family can stay safe:

• Have your home heater cleaned and inspected to ensure safe, efficient operation at least every other year, and keep the area around the heater clean at all times. An inspection by a qualified contractor can ensure the heater vent or flue is not blocked, a common problem leading to carbon monoxide poisoning and fires.
• Make sure there is sufficient space between heating equipment, such as free-standing space heaters — and combustibles like furniture and drapes. Never leave an operating portable heater unattended, especially when there are children and pets nearby, or when you are sleeping. When home fires result in fatalities, the NFPA reports portable and space heaters often are involved.
• Take time to inspect conditions around your home. Look for any loose or frayed cords on all electrical appliances. Avoid running extension cords across doorways or under carpets.
• Avoid overloading electrical outlets. Use only one appliance for each receptacle when possible. Avoid the use of devices that allow the connection of multiple appliances into a single receptacle.
• Have plastic covers on all unused electrical outlets in homes with small children.
• Place lamps on level surfaces, away from things that can burn and use bulbs that match the lamp’s recommended wattage.

A small percent of all home fires are caused by candles, most being used in the bedroom. Seventy-percent of households use candles. Lit candles should never be left unattended, and candles should always be kept out of the reach of children and pets. Make sure candles are on a firm base so they will not tip over, and avoid placing candles near curtains, furniture and other flammable materials.

In addition to fire prevention, fire experts want all homes to be equipped with smoke alarms or detectors, fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors, and home sprinkler systems when possible. Families should check smoke detector batteries once a month, replace the batteries once a year, and occasionally dust the inside of the unit to prevent false alarms. Fire officials say smoke alarms — properly installed and maintained — play a vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries.

• Having a working smoke alarm cuts the chances of dying in a fire in half.
• A 2008 survey found that nearly all U.S. households had at least one smoke alarm, yet no smoke alarms were present or none operated in two out of five of reported home fires between 2003 and 2006.
• No smoke alarms were present in 40 percent of the home fire deaths.
• Almost two-thirds of reported home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
• In more than half of the reported home fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate, batteries were missing or disconnected.
• Families need to plan fire escape routes in case of an emergency and practice the routes with all members of your household — especially children.

Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on Oct. 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on Oct. 9, 1871.

BY MARTIN WILLIAMS
THOUSANDS of people across Wales are sacrificing home security by not activating burglar alarms.
A staggering 81% of people in Wales surveyed by Swinton Insurance revealed they do not set house alarms because they leave their pets indoors.
This was followed by them worrying about young children setting them off during the night (21%) and forgetfulness accounting for 7%.
Failing to activate an alarm which is declared in your home insurance policy could invalidate your insurance and prevent you from be reimbursed.
Steve Chelton, insurer development manager at Swinton, said: “Burglar alarms are an excellent way to secure your home.
“But our research has shown a worrying trend of home owners not switching them on because of their pets.

Shoplifters and dishonest employees stole more than $6.0 billion in 2008 from just 22 major retailers, according to the 21st Annual Retail Theft Survey conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, the leading loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm. These 22 surveyed retailers apprehended a record 904,226 shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2008 and recovered more than $182 million from these thieves.

“For the third consecutive year, both the apprehensions and recovery dollars from shoplifters and dishonest employees rose; up 7.26 percent and 21.64 percent respectively,” said Mark R. Doyle, president of Jack L. Hayes International. “While shoplifter and dishonest employee apprehensions increased 7.65 percent and 3.01 percent respectively, the increase in recovery dollars from these apprehensions was up an amazing 30.24 percent for shoplifting and almost 10 percent for dishonest employees. It should also be noted that employee theft apprehensions and recovery dollars increased for the fifth straight year.

“With the downturn in the economy, we have seen an increase in theft, which is having a detrimental impact on retailers’ bottom-line profits. These theft losses drive consumer prices higher and can force unprofitable stores to close.”

The National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association (NBFAA) recommends the following safety tips for protection against carbon monoxide poisoning.

* Install CO alarms outside each sleeping area of the home and on each floor of the home. For greater protection, connect the CO alarms throughout the home so that when one activates, they all activate.
* Adhere to all manufacturer’s guidelines and instructions for installation.
* Identify and store all local emergency contact numbers for a CO alarm emergency. Program these numbers in your cell phone as well, in case you are not at home when an alarm activates.
* Test monthly and confirm that each CO alarm is operating properly to the manufacturer’s instructions.
* If the CO alarm activates, immediately relocate everyone in the home to a safe location outdoors, or move into an open doorway that leads outside.
* Call for help only from a safe location, and remain in the safe location until emergency personnel arrive.
* Never start and run an automobile in an enclosed area such as a garage. Simply opening a garage door is NOT sufficient ventilation.
* In the event of a large snowstorm, ensure that all exterior dryer, furnace and/or stove vents are clear of any debris or packed snow.
* A gas-powered generator should only be used in a well-ventilated outdoor location.
* Never operate gas or charcoal grills indoors. Use in only outdoor manufacturer recommended locations.

Unlike smoke which can be detected by sight and smell, carbon monoxide can fill a home without any warning. Installing a monitored carbon monoxide detector in your home not only gives you peace of mind, it could also be your first line of defense.